staging: character-state-ch-04.md task=7e3f0b01-7e21-496e-b665-7be9d5f5c2a8

projects/cypress-bend/staging/character-state-ch-04.md

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+# Character State: ch-04
+
+## Lena Duval
+Location: On the *Ghost Drift*, crossing the New Orleans city line (Industrial Canal).
+Physical: High fever; right hand tremors; skin damp and clammy; exhaustion; physical grounding via mother's locket.
+Emotional: Relieved but haunted; feeling the "severing" of her connection to the swamp.
+Active obligations: 
+- Owes the land a "balancing of scales" (Ch1) -- UNPAID
+- Owes Jax Harlan a conversation about the "unnatural" events (Ch2) -- UNPAID
+- Owes Jax Harlan safe passage/cooperation (Ch4) -- PAID
+Open loops: 
+- Lena and the "Whisper": Mother’s voice in the roots (Ch1) -- UNRESOLVED
+- Lena and the surveyors: Removal of markers (Ch2) -- UNRESOLVED
+- Lena and the Rite: Consequences of interruption (Ch3) -- UNRESOLVED
+- Lena and Jax: The flight toward New Orleans (Ch4) -- RESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows she intends to flee to New Orleans within the week -- Aunt Maribelle does not know.
+- CARRIED (Ch1--unresolved): Knows the "whisper" sounded like her mother's voice -- No one else knows.
+- CARRIED (Ch2--unresolved): Knows she found a survey marker labeled "Project Phlegethon" -- Jax and Maribelle do not know.
+Arc: 35% -- Lena has physically and psychically crossed the threshold into the city, effectively choosing exile over her heritage.
+Permanent: YES
+
+## Jax Harlan
+Location: Pilot chair of the *Ghost Drift*, entering New Orleans city limits.
+Physical: Scuffed knuckles; bloodshot eyes; alert; no major injuries.
+Emotional: Tense; protective; increasingly unnerved by the supernatural trail following his boat.
+Active obligations: 
+- Owes Lena safe passage to the city line (Ch4) -- PAID
+- Owes Lena protection in the city (Ch4) -- UNPAID
+Open loops:
+- Jax and the Duval Coven: Potential retaliation for Lena's extraction (Ch4) -- UNRESOLVED
+Known secrets: 
+- Knows Lena’s fever is "land-sick" (unnatural) -- Lena thinks he believes it is a standard illness.
+Arc: 5% -- Jax has transitioned from a neutral guide to a fugitive accomplice against the Duval family.
+Permanent: YES
+
+# World State: ch-04
+
+## NPC Memory
+- The Coven (Widow’s Deep): HOSTILE -- They witnessed Jax taking Lena and view the boat as a vessel of theft and apostasy.
+- Aunt Maribelle (Widow’s Deep): VENGEFUL -- She has designated Lena an "Apostate" and is hunting the boat through the water-path.
+
+## Faction Attitudes
+- The Duval Coven: Aggressive -- Actively mobilizing rituals to retrieve Lena; using the "Blackening" to track the boat.
+- Terrebonne Development Corp: Lurking -- Their presence is escalating the coven's defensive magic.
+
+## Active World Events
+- The Blackening: Oily sap and sludge manifested behind the *Ghost Drift*, marking Lena’s trail until the city line was crossed.
+- The Silence: Continued absence of wildlife along the shortcut due to "Project Phlegethon" and dark magic.
+- The Severing: Narrative event where Lena physically feels her bond to the swamp tear as she enters the city.